Inclusive Excellence on Colorado’s Campuses
“It’s time to be less patient.”
This past Thursday, Jan. 19th, Chancellor Rebecca Chopp of the University of Denver kicked off the annual D.U. Diversity summit by hosting four other panelists from throughout the Colorado higher education system. The panel discussed the importance of inclusive excellence on prospective campuses and what still needs to be done in this area. The panelists included: Tony Frank, President, and Chancellor of Colorado State University, Jill Tiefenthaler, President of Colorado College, Betsy Oudenhoven, President of The Community College of Aurora, and Joe Garcia, President of The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
Many things were discussed in Thursday’s panel in relation to improving inclusive excellence and diversity on campuses in Colorado. One of the main topics being the biggest challenges these leaders have faced in creating an inclusive and diverse environment. They also spoke on how to support a diverse population on campus. And included insight into what diversity means in the wake of the election. All of the panelists agreed that “there’s still a big gap between where we are and where we need to be,” as Frank stated.
On the University of Denver’s campus, tensions have been high between student alliances and the administration to take actions towards inclusive excellence after the campus’ free speech wall was vandalized last October. As one student, Tashan Montgomery stated in his Facebook post, the vandalism was meant to “silence black voices.” This post was shared over 100 times by other members of the DU community, “The University of Denver needs to do something about these students because it isn’t just a student issue, this represents DU as well. We as students are expecting more than just a letter about diversity and inclusive excellence. We are demanding action.”
Chopp and the other panelists did not address direct actions taken towards furthering inclusive excellence, rather they recognized there is a problem. “We’re an institution about building tomorrow,” said Chopp, stating how sometimes she wishes she had “a magic wand” she could wave to fix all of the issues on campus. Tiefenthaler then added on, “Institutions move very slowly,” and that change on campuses is often slower than the student turnover rate. “It’s time to be less patient,” Frank added, “we’ve been far too patient.”
Inclusive excellence and diversity have never been more important in the anticipation of the new administration. All of these university leaders have hope for the future and a clear motivation to make their campuses safer for those who are not the majority. Chopp stated at the beginning of the panel her hopes for the rest of the diversity summit, and for the university itself, “I have a vision that everyone can be in an ongoing conversation.” There is still much to be done in terms of inclusivity on our campus, however, our Chancellor having a vision and a desire for change sounds like a step in the right direction.
Written Jan 2017